Council appoints Plese to fill remainder of McDonald's term

By Ryan Gueningsman
Managing Editor

Delano City Council appointed Marc Plese to fill the remainder of recently-elected Mayor Joe McDonald’s city council term at a special meeting Tuesday night.

Members of the city council and the mayor interviewed all but one candidate who ran for city council in 2006  Harlan Lewis, Marc Plese, Mike Russek, and Paul Stansberry. Candidate Peg Polingo was unable to attend the interview session.

Following the interviews, the council unanimously moved to appoint Plese.

Plese has lived in Delano for one year, and has split time between Wisconsin and Minnesota. He is the assistant vice president of IT operations for TN Marketing in Plymouth

The November election was Plese’s first time running for public office.

“I am fulfilling a goal as well as a dream by running for public office,” Plese said in November, prior to the election. “I have a young family that is excited to be a part of this community for many years to come.”

Plese cited Delano being able to sustain the current excellence within its school system, and development, as two major issues facing the city.

“I would like to see us slow down residential development, catch our breath a bit, and focus our attention on re-development of our current infrastructure,” he said prior to the election. “I love the vision of our new downtown look and would push to see this project through to completion. Downtown has so much potential to be a special place for residents and visitors.”

Plese also has served on the city’s historical preservation committee.

In making the appointment, the council provided the following summary of its decision:

“It was an incredibly difficult decision. The council discussed that each candidate had great qualities and could contribute to the good of the city.

“Each had varying strengths. Plese represents someone new to town and a perspective of a new resident that the council found quite appealing.

“He recognizes the need for controlled growth, but reiterated the desire to keep Delano’s small town atmosphere. He stated during his interview that he chose Delano for this very reason. He stated he likes to network within the community.”

As a statutory city, Delano is required to follow the process outlined in state statute to fill a vacant seat. Minnesota statute states cities must appoint a replacement to fill a vacant seat whenever there are fewer than two years remaining when a term becomes vacant, according to City Administrator Phil Kern.

An exception is provided if a municipality has adopted an ordinance outlining the circumstances when it would hold a special election.

Delano does not have such an ordinance, and therefore was required by state statutes to follow the appointment process in this case, according to Kern.

Plese will take the oath of office at the next regular city council meeting Tuesday, Jan. 16, Kern said.